1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a column type change lever mechanism mounted on a tiltable steering shaft assembly for selecting the operation mode of an automatic transmission in an automotive vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 62-105773, there has been proposed a column type change lever mechanism which includes a tiltable column change rod assembled in parallel with a tiltable steering shaft assembly. The column change rod is composed of an upper rod portion tiltably connected to a lower rod portion by means of a universal joint, while the steering shaft assembly is composed of an upper steering shaft tiltably connected to a lower steering shaft by means of a universal joint and rotatably supported within an upper column tube. The upper portion of the column change rod is mounted on a side portion of the upper column tube of the steering shaft assembly by means of a support bracket and is provided thereon with a manual change lever. In the column type change lever mechanism, the operation grip of the manual change lever is spaced from the central axis of the upper column tube in a distance between the upper portion of the column change rod and the upper column tube, and the component parts such as the column change rod, the manual change lever and the support bracket are arranged in a limited space at the side portion of the upper column tube. With such an arrangement of the column type change lever mechanism as described above, it is difficult to provide the manual change lever in an optimum length suitable for operation, and it is also difficult to assemble the component parts of the change lever mechanism with tiltable steering shaft assembly in the limited space. In the case that a collision energy absorbing mechanism is assembled with the steering shaft assembly, it is required to further assemble a collision energy absorbing mechanism with the column change rod, resulting in a complicated construction and an increase of manufacturing cost.